To close out its 2020/21 season, Victoria’s Blue Bridge Repertory Theatre presents the world premiere of playwright Sarah Murphy’s new one-person musical tribute to one of America’s most successful entertainers of all time—Doris Day.
Entitled Day After Day, it stars the well-known stage, film and television star Linda Kash, and runs from August 3 to 18 at Victoria’s Roxy Theatre.
Day After Day is set on a fictional night in 1968 when the real life Doris Day, finding that her third husband Marty Melcher has died and left her heavily in debt, decides to come to the Fox Theatre (later named the Roxy Theatre) in Victoria BC to give an incognito performance. What follows is a two-hour rumination in song and text that sees Day emerge from yet another of her several life tragedies into one of the most successful periods of her career.
“When Blue Bridge’s artistic director asked me over two years ago if I might be interested in writing a musical tribute to this iconic performer,” said Murphy, “I honestly had no idea of how I would find a way into a story of a woman who, at that point in time, I felt I had no affinity with at all. However, as I began to research her life and her amazing accomplishments, my admiration and respect for her as an entertainer and a woman just grew and grew. Now, I can’t wait for audiences to discover what I believe were her grit, intelligence and compassion that, in my view, make her a feminist icon by any generation’s standards.”
Featuring more than 20 songs drawn from the extensive catalogue of Day’s repertoire, and in the role of a woman who was said to typify America’s vision of “the girl next door,” Day After Day stars Linda Kash.
Kash is known to audiences for her appearances in such TV series as Seinfeld and Everybody Loves Raymond and films such as Best In Show and Waiting For Guffman, but perhaps is best loved as the original Philadelphia Cream Cheese angel.
“I am absolutely thrilled to be working with Linda again,” said artistic director Brian Richmond. “In my view she is one of Canada’s most talented comediennes, actors and singers, and as Sarah’s wonderful script started to come together, it was Linda who kept popping into my mind as the actor who could best tackle Doris Day’s perpetual commitment to optimism in the face of life’s many tragedies.”
Joining director Richmond in bringing this wonderful new work to life is an all-star creative team that includes Jacob Richmond as dramaturge, Don Horsburgh as music director, Patrick Du Wors as set and dostume designer, Rebekah Johnson on lights and Jason King on projections.
Tickets are available at bluebridgetheatre.ca or by calling the box office at 250-382-3370.
For further information please contact pr@bluebridgetheatre.ca